I Wore the Apple Watch Series 10 and Ultra 2 for a Month. This One's My Favorite

The Apple Watch Series 10 may be the latest smartwatch from Apple, but you may be surprised to hear that it has a lot in common with last year's Apple Watch Ultra 2. Both have a comprehensive selection of health and fitness tracking tools, run the same WatchOS 11 software and support the same selection of apps. So how do you choose between them? I wore both watches for a month to compare everything from screen differences to health tracking.

With its tough construction and longer-lasting battery, the $799 Ultra 2 is clearly aimed at sports enthusiasts. But the Series 10 holds its own next to Apple's most expensive watch thanks to different display technology that makes it easier to see from various viewing angles and a streamlined design that fits more wrists. 

Of course, none of that matters if you don't have the budget to afford either watch. And price may be the bigger deciding factor when it comes to choosing which one is the best Apple Watch for you. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 doesn't have many options aside from the finish. The Ultra 2 is made from titanium and comes in a single 49-millimeter size for $799 (£799, AU$1,399).

The Apple Watch Series 10 comes in two sizes, 42 millimeters and 46 millimeters, and is made of either aluminum or titanium. The 42mm aluminum Series 10 starts at $399 (£399, AU $649), with some configurations costing as much as the Ultra 2. So basing your decision on price alone might not get you the right watch for your needs. That's why I'm here to help.

Apple Watch Series 10 screen: tick tock goes the clock

Even though the Apple Watch Ultra 2 has a bigger case, the 46mm Series 10 technically has the biggest screen of any Apple Watch -- it's 3% bigger than the Ultra 2. And after comparing the 46mm Series 10 with the Ultra 2, I can't see a difference between them. With the same watch faces, app list and message screens side by side, you'd need a magnifying glass to see any practical difference. So I wouldn't pick the 46mm Series 10 for size-based bragging rights.

Something that you can actually see is the Apple Watch Series 10's wide-angle OLED, which makes screen brighter than the Ultra 2 when you view it off-axis. This is especially noticeable when you glance down to check the time. 

Certain watch faces also support a ticking second hand, like Reflections, Flux and Activity Digital. This is powered by the Series 10's LTPO 3 display that lets the refresh rate drop to 1Hz when the always-on is active. The Ultra 2 doesn't have the ticking second hand even when it's using any of these same watch faces.

If display brightness is important to you, the Ultra 2's screen gets brighter than the Series 10, reaching a maximum 3,000 nits compared with 2,000. In my testing, I didn't have any difficulties seeing either watch, whether I was indoors or outdoors.

The Ultra 2's titanium case is slightly raised and as a result provides more edge protection to the sapphire crystal display. The Series 10's display has two different coverings depending on what case material you choose: Ion-X glass on the aluminum or sapphire crystal on the titanium.

Both watches are dust resistant and water-resistant, but the Ultra 2 is rated to be submerged down to 100 meters compared with 50 meters -- it also has exclusive diving features, including the Oceanic Plus app that supports scuba. 

Comfort is highly subjective, but after wearing the Ultra 2 for a year, as soon as I switched to the Series 10, my wrist breathed a sigh of relief. It's much more comfortable for everyday wear and sleep tracking.

Apple Watch Ultra 2's Action button is handy

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 has one design feature that keeps drawing me back: The orange Action Button, which can launch a workout, the stopwatch, the flashlight or even trigger a custom Shortcut with one press. Its functionality can change depending on context too. If you're in a workout, for example, you can press it to mark a segment.

In WatchOS 11 the Action button gets even more helpful because you can long press and hold it to see a list of other actions pop up. This means you no longer have to keep switching out what the button does on first press because you can just long press to bring up all the options. 

The Series 10 doesn't have an Action button. While you can achieve some of the same results with complications on the watch face, there's nothing quite as satisfying as pressing a physical button.

Both Apple Watches have the same storage

The Apple Watch Series 10 runs the newer S10 chip, while the Ultra 2 is on the earlier S9 chip. I tried my hardest to find any noticeable performance differences between the two watches, like opening the same apps, using on-device Siri or selecting something with Double Tap, but the Ultra 2 was just as fast as the Series 10 for all these tasks.

Both watches support precision finding when paired to an iPhone 15 or 16, and each has 64GB of storage.

The Ultra 2 has two exclusive watch faces, Modular Ultra or Wayfinder. They fit a lot of detail on the screen and have room for seven or eight complications, respectively. Each supports a night mode to automatically turn red when it's dark, or you can keep it on all the time. The Ultra 2 also lets you put one more data field on the workout screen.

Apple Watch Series 10 vs. Ultra 2 call quality and speakers

You can take calls on either watch when your phone is within range because they both have a speaker and microphone. LTE is standard on the Ultra 2 and the titanium Series 10, so you can take calls or send messages when you are out of range of your phone. The LTE option is an extra cost on the aluminum Series 10. Don't forget, there's generally an added fee you'll pay to your wireless provider to activate LTE on a compatible watch.

I compared the microphone quality from both watches and recorded the audio from a phone call, which you can hear in the video on this page. In short, the call quality is very similar and I didn't notice much difference between them at all, even though the hardware configuration is slightly different. Both did a good job suppressing background noise and isolating my voice.

Both watches let you jam out to your favorite tunes without headphones and play music back through the onboard speaker. Just load up music, audio books or podcasts, press play and route the audio through the watch speaker.

Apple Watch Series 10 and Ultra 2 sensors and health tools

The Apple Watch Series 10 and Ultra 2 are similar when it comes to health and fitness tracking. They each have a temperature sensor, ECG or electrocardiogram app, high and low heart rate alerts, and irregular heart rhythm alerts. They share the same heart rate sensor, let you connect Bluetooth accessories like power meter pedals and track your daily activity with Apple's ring-based system.

Both also offer sleep apnea notifications, fall detection, car crash detection and emergency SOS. If you're in the US and you purchase a new Ultra 2 or Series 10, you won't have access to the blood oxygen sensor due to a patent dispute. But if you manage to find an Ultra 2 that was sold prior to Jan. 18, 2024, the blood oxygen sensor should still work.

All is not the same for outdoor features, though. The Ultra 2 has an 86dB siren designed to attract attention if you end up stranded, plus it has a wider operating range than the Series 10. This means you can take it to colder temperatures and higher altitudes than the Series 10. It also has a depth gauge rated to 40 meters compared with 6 meters on the Series 10.

GPS performance is also different. The Ultra has a dual-frequency GPS with both L1 and L5 bands while the Series 10 uses L1. In my testing, the Ultra 2 is more accurate at tracking distance and route information in built-up areas.

Apple Watch Ultra 2 delivers a clear win in battery life

Apple officially rates the Series 10 runtime at 18 hours and the Ultra 2 at 36 hours. But with real-world use, you can get a lot more out of each. With phone notifications, the always-on display, doing a 1-hour GPS workout and sleep tracking, I can get a day and a half from the Series 10 before needing to charge. With the same use, I get closer to three days from the Ultra 2.

Both have a low power mode to extend the battery even further, but, of course, your mileage will vary depending on how you use the watch. Resource-intensive tasks like using LTE will deplete your battery sooner. I definitely noticed the battery drain faster than usual when playing back music through the speaker, for example.

Both watches support fast wireless charging, as long as you have a 20-watt or higher adapter. The Series 10 gets you up to 80% in 30 minutes, while the Ultra 2 charges to 80% in an hour.

Even though they look wildly different on the outside and are suited to different use cases, the Series 10 and Ultra 2 are surprisingly similar on the inside. 

If you want the best battery life, a tougher construction and need specific scuba features, get the Ultra 2. But for most people, including myself, I'm recommending the Series 10. It's going to do pretty much everything you need, as long as you don't mind charging it more often.